Device to treat straw or the like



July 3, 1956 A. B. GRC'D'NBERG 2,

I DEVICE TO TREAT STRAW OR THE LIKE Filed July 25. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Pa u/ER Den/5M 3nn entor y 1956 A. B. GRCNBERG 2,

DEVICE TO TREAT STRAW OR THE LIKE Filed July 25. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2HII 11 ISnnentor J.fi. 61 o jvbelj (Ittomegs United States Patent2,752,969 DEVICE T0 TREAT STRAW OR THE LIKE Anton B. Griinberg, Ottiun,Sweden I Application July 23, 1951, Serial No. 238,082 Claims priority,application Sweden July 25, 1950 i Claims. (Cl. 146--120) This inventionrelates to a device for simultaneously cutting and crushing straw.

It is well known that straw can be broken up by cutting it crosswise inorder to facilitate storage and to prepare it for chemical treatment.Further, experiments have shown that simultaneously cutting and crushingthe straw increases the desired effect and renders the so-prepared strawresistant to rotting in storage.

The devices of the present invention comprise cutting members, whichperform in addition to the cutting, one part of the desired crushing andother means for crushing the straw in such a way that the fibers aretorn off in a longitudinal direction.

An object of the invention is to provide a device for the simultaneouscutting and crushing of straw.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device whereby it ispossible to obtain a crosswise cutting of the straw in relation to thelongitudinal direction of said straw simultaneous with the crushing ofsaid straw.

Other objects and features will be apparent from the following detaileddescription.

Figure 1 is a vertical view in section of a pivot car which may becoupled to a reaping thresher and which is provided with a cutting andcrushing device.

Figure 2 shows a vertical View in section of a similar stationarydevice.

Figure 3 shows side view of the straw cutting and crushing members.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the drum for feeding and crushing thestraw.

Fig. 1 shows a trailer car 1, which may be of a kind known per se, thebottom 2 of which slopes outwards and downwards from a part 3, which isto be coupled to the towing car. The trailer car is carried on one ormore wheels 30, which are attached to hearing members, which areswingable around vertical axes in a Way, well-known per se. At the rearend of the car 1, at the lower end of the sloping bottom 2, a device 4is arranged according to the invention to treat straw or the like. Strawis fed into the car from the reaping thresher in such a way that thestraws move mainly in their longitudinal direction. The device 4comprises bars 6, which are arranged at the periphery of wheels 5 or thelike, and said bars are mainly parallel with a shaft 7, around which thewheels with the bars are swung. The shaft 7 is mounted in the car 1 inbearings not shown in the drawing, and suitably said shaft may be drivenby the reaping thresher, by means of members not shown. The bars 6 aredesigned to cooperate with a fixed bar 8, which is attached to the car,adjacent to its bottom, so that straw is fed over the bar 8 and inbetween the rotating bars 6, so that the straws are treated by crosswisecutting, at the same time being partly crushed. The bars 6 and 8 may bedesigned with edges so that the straws are cut into short pieces.

At the example shown in Fig. 1 the car is provided with a rotating drum9 or the like, which is carried by a shaft 10 and at its peripheryprovided with extending teeth 11 or the like, which suitably may consistin axially arranged and comparatively thin plates. Suitably the drum 9on the shaft 10 is driven in correspondence with therotation of thewheels 5. The drum serves to perform a certain compression as well as afeeding of straw in direction to the bar 8. Said teeth 11 may beprovided with edges so that the straws are partly broken and alsosomewhat crushed before it is treated by the bars 6 and 8. Fig. 2 showsa similar device, which is, however, stationary, and the details whichcorrespond to details inFig. 1 are provided with the same referencenumbers. A feeding hopper 12 is formed in a way corresponding to the car1 except that the feeding hopper 12 is carried on legs 13 instead ofwheels 30. In Fig. 2 there is a fan 14 arranged to discharge the strawsfor storage or further treatment.

Above mentioned embodiments are common in that (the treating members 6and 8 are mainly parallel with the rotating shaft 7.

Figure 4 shows the drum 9 mounted on shaft 10 and clearly indicates howthe longitudinal teeth 11 are mounted on the drum. It is essential thatthe teeth extend the full length of the drum so that all the strawpassing through the hopper will be crushed as it is fed toward thedischarge opening.

The invention is not, however, limited to the embodiments shown anddescribed above but may be varied considerably within the scope of theinvention. Most important is, that the device is arranged in such a way,that it is possible to obtain a crosswise cutting in relation to thelongitudinal direction of the straws and that the straws are crushed atthe same time, at least partially and it is not necessary that thecutting operation cuts oil' the straws in parts during the treatment.

At the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-2 the drums 9 may be arranged in sucha way that they are spring actuated in direction to the hopper bottom 2,and said spring actuation may be adjusted in order to adjust thepressure of the teeth 11 against the straw. It is also possible toprovide the bars 8, as well as the bars 6, with grooved surfaces, whichfacilitate the crushing and milling of the straw.

What I claim is:

1. A trailer-car for receiving straws discharged from a thresher and fordischarging straw in a. desired broken condition for further processing,said trailer-car comprising a hopper having a bottom sloping toward adischarge opening, a power driven toothed rotary drum located close tothe hopper bottom so as to partially break and somewhat crush the strawas said drum is driven to feed the straw toward said discharge opening,a blade fixed to the hopper bottom to lie substantially crosswise of thedirection of flow of the straws as they are fed toward the dischargeopening, a plurality of bars mounted on a power driven rotatable shaftand so positioned as to pass close to said fixed blade to crush andbreak the straws into short pieces.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the teeth on said toothed drum eachconsists of an axially arranged piece of thin plate projecting edgewiseradially from the drum.

3. A device for crushing and breaking straw to prepare it for processingcomprising a hopper with a bottom sloping toward a discharge opening, apower driven toothed rotary drum spaced a short distance above thehopper bottom to form a restricted passage so as to partially break andsomewhat crush the straw as said drum is driven to feed the straw towardsaid discharge opening, a blade fixed to the hopper bottom to liesubstantially crosswise of said hopper at the discharge opening, aplurality of bars mounted on a rotatable driven she-ft so lpositioned asto pass close to said fixed blade 1,154,262 to cutand break the strawsinto short pieces v 1,159,822 4. The device of claim 3 in which the saidplurality of 1,628,870 bars lie parallel to said rotatable shaft onwhich they are 2,239,486 mu'nted. 5 2,327,893 -5. The device of claim 3in which the teeth of said 2,347,664 toothed drum each consists 'of apiece of thin plate 'e'xtefid- 2,558,530

ing lengthwise of the drum with its edge presented radially therefrom. v10 39,444 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS 578519 Re. 11,634 Williams E Oct. 26, 1897 606,260 Red-29534Stewart Sept. 25, 1906 15 873,595

'MacGreg'or Sept. 21, 1915 Bartholomew Nov. 9, 1915 Alfred May 17, 1927Edwards Apr. 22, 1941 Hobson Aug. 24, 1943 Chilton May 2, 1944 WimperisJune 26, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Netherlands Oct. 15, 1929 Germany Nov. 18,1919 Germany Sept. 26, 1929 Germany June 14, 1933 Germany Nov. 28, 1934France Mar. 30, 1942

